Nampak Plastics invests in 'bottle-to-bottle' reprocessing plant

One of the largest producers of milk bottles in the UK has announced that it is to make a multi-million pound investment in building its own closed loop plastic reprocessing plant, based in the North-East of England. Nampak Plastics hope that the output of the plant will help in its drive to produce 30% recycled content milk bottles by 2009. The company has not yet decided the exact location of the site but it will be based in the North-East. Nampak aim to have the plant operational by the end of 2008 and hope that it will produce up to 13,000 tonnes of food grade recycled HDPE (rHDPE) per year. Business development director James Crick said: This move puts recycling firmly at the heart of our business. While all recycling has merit, closed loop recycling is arguably the ultimate; turning bottles back into bottles improves both sustainability and environmental performance. The company will use the reprocessing technology that it helped to develop three years ago with the Waste & Resources Action Programme, Dairy Crest, Marks & Spencer and Nextext. Milk bottles collected from waste management companies and local authorities will be baled taken to the plant, washed, shredded into flakes, melted and processed into making a new bottle. In March of this year, with help from Nampak, Marks & Spencer used 10% recycled HDPE in all of its organic milk bottles. Nampak has entered into another recent partnership with Closed Loop London, a food grade plastic recycling company, to produce what is believed to be the UKs first available recycled content plastic milk bottle from autumn 2008. Crick added: By building our own plant, as well as working in partnership with other UK reprocessors, not only do we have the best chance of securing quality food grade recycled material for our bottles, we also help stimulate demand for more HDPE from the UK waste stream. If this plant, alongside the millions being invested by other reprocessors, leads to a higher level of kerbside collections for HDPE, we will all benefit. Image: Nampak business development director James Crick

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